Using GSM to Expand Internet Access in Africa

Systemsfusion has announced that it will be making aggressive inroads into sub-Saharan Africa in 2005. The company brings with it a wealth of international expertise, acquired while working with some of the worlds largest ISPs and service providers. A main motivator behind the move is the fact that the company is able to deliver data, cost effectively and efficiently via GSM networks. This will give people throughout Africa access to services traditionally reserved for the continent's connected elite.

Says Nevo Hadas, business development manager at Systemsfusion: "Access to and the delivery of data services throughout the African continent has been a huge challenge for companies, as in many instances the physical infrastructure for data delivery simply does not exist. However with the rapid growth and adoption of mobile telephony, GSM networks and the simple cellphone by the continent, access to data services is fast becoming a reality."

"Data services delivered over mobile networks has traditionally only been done through GPRS services, a service which is not only very costly, but to an extent unreliable, lacking quality of service. With one of our products like ISPNow! a network operator can deploy ISP services over a GSM network within a matter of weeks. With an ISP over GSM offering, networks can offer customers access to basic services like e-mail and Internet access and grow into value added offerings," states Hadas.

Systemsfusion offers clients throughout Africa access to its range of GSM products and services, as well as consulting and technical expertise. In addition, the company will assist clients by providing a physical comprehensive end-to-end solution, support and maintenance of the product sets, skills transfer as and when required, platforms which as cost efficient and highly scalable, as well as the flexibility to grow and adapt the solution as and when the market dictates the need for change.

"The reality of the situation is that many service providers throughout Africa are not aware of data over GSM services and products, as companies have been able to milk them indefinitely by exclusively offering services like GPRS at exorbitant fees. Data over GSM however opens massive revenue generating opportunities for companies - simply calculated if you had a thousand users accessing the Internet for only 10 minutes a day, you have an additionally growth of 50,000 additional minutes used a week."

"The maths explains the viability of this as an option - with little additional explanation needed. On the flipside this service also provides a proven business path to finally and more effectively unlock the real value of data to the people of the African continent, without the reliance on physical infrastructure, expensive Internet Caf

Posted to the site on 10th May 2005